Medical Racism

By: Akon Angara

Medical racism is the systematic and wide-spread racism against POC within the medical system. Racial discrimination has played a part in many institutions, and health care is no different. As other variants of racism, medical racism is not always direct, and does not only come in one form. Some contributions to medical racism are: lower health rates coverage; communication barriers; and racial stereotyping based on false beliefs.Even if medical racism is not direct, it’s consequences are still heavy, as POC face worse health outcomes than their white counterparts, and are put at a greater risk. African American patients often receive lower quality health services in comparison to white American patients. This can include health services for:

• Cancer

•H.I.V.

• Prenatal care

• Preventative care

They are also less likely to receive treatment for cardiovascular disease, and are more likely to have unnecessary limb amputations. Evelynn Hammonds, a historian of science at Harvard told The New York Times: “There has never been any period in American history where the health of blacks was equal to that of whites. Disparity is built into the system.” In American history, thousands of nonwhite women have been sterilized, and usually without consent. For example, in the 1930s and 1970s, one-third of Puerto-Rican women of childbearing age were sterilized, with many under coercion. This, however, was not a one time instance, nor did it only happen to one nonwhite group in history. In the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of Native American women were sterilized without consent. A California eugenics law also forced or coerced thousands of sterilisations of women and men of Mexican descent in the 20th century. Thirty-two other states also had such laws at the time, which were applied disproportionately to people of color. But medical racism still happens today, and as a result, it still affects POC today.

Black women who face higher levels of homelessness and unsafe housing have less healthcare opportunities. Black people are also more likely to develop health conditions such as asthma, which can originate from the prevalence of high-polluting industries in and near Black neighborhoods. POC can also suffer from stress and hypertension which can derive from racial experiences and trauma. This can worsen mental health, as well as contribute to the development of conditions from stress. Black people are also twice as likely to be uninsured for health in Washington, and Hispanic people are four times less likely than to have health insurance.

POC can also be discriminated against in the doctor’s office, and doctors may disbelieve black women who express health concerns. This stems from inaccurate information about the pain tolerance of black women and POC in general, which can result in serious diseases going unnoticed or disregarded by doctors. Even within the ongoing pandemic, POC generally have higher mortality rates from COVID-19. This is because they are more likely to suffer from other conditions, which makes COVID-19 even more dangerous. To abolish medical racism, we must analyse it from different angles. Medical racism does not have to begin in the doctor’s office. We must improve the housing conditions of POC, expand healthcare and health insurance access, and teach anti-racist medical practices to those pursuing medical education to prevent biases. All of these can contribute to making a safer, healthier society for all people.

sources:

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/upshot/bad-medic

ine-the-harm-that-comes-from-racism.amp.html

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_568f35f2e4b0c8beacf68713

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24507906/

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/543.html

https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/firesteel/tue-07212020-0947/what-medical-racism